Impressions from La Fete du Champagne

Jet lag hit hard that morning and I missed the Sommelier seminar due to an unplanned nap. Managed to arrive just a little late to the Grand Tasting.
Usual disclaimers - my palate and note taking declined over the course of the event, some wines could definitely use more air, etc.

Short impressions
2014 is somewhat disappointing as a vintage though as always there are plenty of exceptions.
Big wine discoveries were Benoit Marguet and the Brut Nature wines of Drappier. Then there were the totally unsurprising wow wines like 2008 Cristal and 2011 Vilmart Rubis.
Big food discovery - Despana sells the gods of tinned anchovies. They were really that good. Jamon was fine but nothing extraordinary.



Bereche
NV Brut Reserve - lovely,One of my favorites on the table
2014 Rive Gauche - usually one of my favorite Champagnes altogether, in 2014 it was good rather than great. bright berry fruit on nose, medium body
2014 Remensis Extra Brut Rose - beautiful nose, a bit leaner than most vintages
2014 Les Beau Regards - showing a bit oxidative , not something I recall from prior vintages
2010 Le Cran - bright acid, very nice

Drappier
Brut Nature Sans Soufre - fresh apple nose, very good, B+
Blancs de Blancs NV - very nice - B
Rose Nature NV - beautiful nose soft red berry fruit, lovely wine A. I’ll be looking for this one.
Grand Sendree 2008 - pretty meh for a 2008

Diebolt Vallois
Blanc de Blancs NV - nice, B-/B
Blanc de Blancs 2010
Prestige NV - creamier than the first two B
Fleur de Passion 2008 - lovely, B+

Vilmart
NV Grand Cellier - what a delightful wine. lovely pure nose, lush satisfying palate A-
2013 Grand Cellier d’Or - surprisingly a step down from the previous wine. B/B+
2010 Coeur de Cuvee - needs time but impressive A-/A
2011 Grand Cellier Rubis - put a smile on my face and a kick in my step. A


Pierre Paillard - a friend said I had to try their wines. He was wrong. They were fine but a bit ordinary.

Louis Roederer
Brut Nature 2009 - I decided to skip this since I already know I love it
Rose 2012 - great nose but there was distracting sweetness on the palate. A nose, B palate
Cristal 2008 - I am sure that I will shock everyone by revealing that Cristal is great in 2008. Beautiful crystalline wine. A+

Benoit Marguet - my first time trying this producer, I was impressed
Shaman Grand Cru 2014, Certifiee bio et bio-dynamique - fascinating nose and lovely attractive palate. Natural but in a good way A-
Bouzy Grand Cru 2013 - delightful, friendly, light and airy and graceful. Less intellectual than the first wine but it put a smile on my face. A-/A
Ambonnay Grand Cru 2011 - nice good solid Champagne, a bit lean B/B+
Sapience 1er Cru 2009 certifiee bio - deep nose which rewards attention. A wine of meditation which demanded to be taken to a corner to spend time with in conversation. Wow! A

Georges Laval - not really my style, all were a bit too far in the natural direction for me.
Cumieres Premier Cru NV, Bio/Organic - C
Les Chenes 1er Cru 2014, Bio/Organic - Pleasant. B
Les Hautes Cheveres 1er Cru 2013, Bio/Organic - B-
Les Longues Violes 1er Cru 2012 Bio/Organic - C+

Pol Roger
Brut Reserve NV - B
Brut Vintage 2009 A-
Rose Vintage 2009 - Not much on the nose, a bit rough,B
Sir Winston Churchill 2009 - Quite closed but sparkling with occasional hints of greatness. I’d like to try it with much more air.



Lallier - none were all that enjoyable


Pierre Peters
Cuvee de Reserve Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV
Reserve Oubliee Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV
L’Etonnant Monsieur Victor MK11 Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV - very good, B+/A-
Les Chetillons Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV 2011


Some extras:


2006 Dom Perignon (magnum) - good complete Champagne. B+/A-
1999 Piper Heidsick Rare - perhaps my favorite nose of the day. Nose A/A+, palate B/B+
2014 Fourrier Cherbaudes - showing rather ripe for a Fourrier and for a 2014. Nothing exciting.
2017 Huet Le Haut Lieu Sec - really nice minerally wine. A quintessential Vouvray Sec

Great notes Jay. Must have been tough with travel with the tasting. After few such events, I find tasting over 50+ wine (let alone champagnes) extremely hard.

We must have very similar champagne palates.

I hear you on Bereche NV, Drappier NV bruts and everything Marguet; I have enjoyed them thoroughly.

I also hear you on Laval and Pierre Paillard (the acid is too sharp for my palate - almost painful).

Vilmart and Cristal are not a surprise for most.

Jay, thanks for these notes. I too dig Marguet (SHHHH!) and Vilmart. Your comment on the 2008 Grand Sendree from Drappier mirrors mine. I finished mine (2 bottles, actually) and had no urge to replace them as I didn’t get moved by the wine. And you have a “C” to the Laval Longues Violes. $500 on offer this week from Envoyer, and I hear that it is fetching as high as $750 a bottle in NYC. Absurd. Makes the Vilmart Grande Cellier seem genius!

How were the Hebrart wines, if you had a chance to taste?

Thats a bummer. I got a couple tucked away, was hoping a Drappier would deliver in a vintage like 08!

Unfortunately I never make it to more than half the tables and didn’t even manage that much this year. Going into it exhausted from jet lag put a crimp in my perambulations.

I was glad La Colombe had a coffee station set up or my trip home might have been a lot more interesting.

Wow. Obviously some people like it a lot more than I do.

Nice notes Jay and very glad you finally had a chance to try Benoit Marguet’s wines. Your notes about their intellectual and meditative bent are spot on and would make Benoit very happy to hear, as that is the man in a nutshell- a heartfelt purist down to the core. To my palate, the Laval wines are not “too natural” in style, just zero dosage and never a great joy to drink in their youth, unless you are a true believer in non-dose. But, give them adequate time in the cellar and things change rather dramatically and I would bet you would find them far more in line with your palate. We’ll share a mature bottle one of these days, once mine in the cellar are properly aged.

Happy Thanksgiving,

John

Always willing to be proved wrong. It’s certainly happened often enough.

I got to try the Longues Violes, and have a very different take away. I was absolutely floored by it. Easily the most uniquely aromatic wine I’ve ever had, and the depth, length and texture was off the charts. I wish I had $750 a bottle to blow on this. As you said though, to each their own!

Nice seeing you at the event Jay. We’ll agree to disagree about Pierre Paillard…who admittedly charmed me, pointing directly to his Maillerettes and Mottelettes (say that 3x fast). Didn’t try his other offerings.

We agree on Bereche. Always a fan of the Drapper NV Rose and I enjoyed the 2008 Grande Sendree. I liked Marguet but not quite as much as you, I thought more of the 2011 Ambonnay GC.

The Gosset Cuvee 15 Brut NV was intense with a fine finish. Enjoyed the Michel Gonet lineup, particularly the 2012 Mesnil and 3 terroirs which are apparently hard to find. Vilmart is always a winner with the Grand Cellier NV a solid bargain. The Roederer BdB 2010 was bold and tasty, decent value. The Delamotte 2008 also offers value. I was pleased with Pol Roger including the 2008 Winston Churchill. I wanted to like Chartogne-Taillet more, with a preference for the 2013 Couarres. Always a fan of Pierre Peters Chetillons including the 2011.

Good call on the anchovies…yum.

RT